Share This Story!

'Total Blackout': Darkness, games and Urkel

Tonight marks the return of Syfy's Total Blackout, the series that takes game shows to a new level by ... putting its contestants in the dark. Yep, the gimmick of Total Blackout is that folks must compete in

'Total Blackout': Darkness, games and Urkel

Tonight marks the return of Syfy's Total Blackout, the series that takes game shows to a new level by ... putting its contestants in the dark.

This still from Syfy's 'Total Blackout' shows a contestant who can't see she's actually touching a wet teddy bear.(Photo: Syfy)

Yep, the gimmick of Total Blackout is that folks must compete in Fear Factor-like challenges without being able to see what they're doing. And if that isn't strange enough, it's hosted by Jaleel White, best known as Urkel from Family Matters.

In tonight's premiere, contestants "attempt to identify four skin-crawling items placed in tanks, using only their sense of touch" and take a "Walk of Terror" on top of items they can't see. The photo on the left shows one woman vying for the $5,000 prize who doesn't realize the "scary" item she's being forced to touch is a wet teddy bear.

Below is a preview of the new episodes, which appear in night vision. I'll admit I laughed at the dude who just says "I gotta go to the bathroom!" over and over again:

Total Blackout airs tonight at 10:30 ET/PT, after the season premiere of Face Off. Next week it returns to its normal 10 p.m. time slot.